Barack Obama tells Iran 'the world is watching'

[satzz69]

Barack Obama has stepped up his criticism of Iran in the wake of the country's disputed presidential election - and told its leaders the world is watching them.

The US President criticised Tehran for its violent response to a week of mass demonstrations, and insisted the protests must be allowed to proceed peacefully.

"I'm very concerned based on some of the tenor and tone of the statements that have been made and that the government of Iran recognise that the world is watching," he said.

"And how they approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard will, I think, send a pretty clear signal to the international community about what Iran is - and is not."

Iranian state media report that seven or eight people have been killed in unrest since the election result was published last Saturday.

Mr Obama has been less critical of the election than many European leaders, but the latest statement marks a clear ramping-up in tone.

It follows a speech by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in which he insisted last week's election was won fairly by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and was not rigged, as is claimed by defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters: "The violence is being conducted by the government, right? The Revolutionary Guard, the pictures that we saw on Monday that the president reacted to, that was them."

"I think you're definitely witnessing something extraordinary," he said of the demonstrations. "I'm not sure that anybody even a week ago or so would have expected to see the courageous images that we're seeing now."

Scores of reformists have been arrested since the election result was published on June 13, and authorities have cracked down on both foreign and domestic media.